Ensuring that Social Security has an accurate earnings history for you is extremely important. Social Security benefits, both retirement and disability, are based on a worker’s earnings history. If Social Security does not have an accurate earnings history it can result in a loss of benefits.
Social Security periodically sends out statements that provide a glimpse at your earnings history, but you can also access this information online with a my Social Security account, or you can contact Social Security to send out an earnings history.
Because Social Security uses this earnings history to base the amount of benefits on you should take actions immediately if you determine something does not look correct about your earnings. An incorrect earnings history can occur for a variety of reasons. It could happen if an employer mistakenly reports incorrect earnings, or maybe it is an internal mistake by Social Security.
To correct your earnings with Social Security the agency requires an individual to file form SSA 7008. This form, which can be found at the agency’s website ssa.gov, is called the Request For Correction Of Earnings Record. This form will ask about employers and what the correct wages earned were and proof of these earning. Proof can come from an issued W2 or other documentation.
It is important not to procrastinate if you determine Social Security has the wrong earnings for you even if you are years away from being eligible to collect either retirement or disability benefits because the longer you wait the more inaccurate your earnings could be, which could compound the difficulties when applying for disability or retirement benefits. Another problem is that after about three years Social Security makes it difficult for anyone to change their earnings without advanced documentation of the correct earnings.
